Irin's wanderings had carried her far from the temperate Western expanses that she had first found herself wandering in. She wasn't sure what had drawn her to leave those warm, western lands, but Irin had wandered anyways, always on the lookout for another of those massive pawprints, hoping to find signs of a giant wolf's strides across these lands. But she had found none of them when she reached the vast, frozen expanses of northern Alacritia. The snow and ice were only made worse by the fact that it was now solidly winter. Her average lengthed pelt did little to shield Irin from the bitterly blowing winds and it did even less to insulate her from the thickly fallen snow, which gathered on her body like a blanket and weighed the yearling down as she trudged onwards. It was by sheer luck that she stumbled across the frozen expanses of the lake. Immediately, her imagination was captured by the strange pillars erupting from the ice, and by the arches that had been created. Almost against her will, she found herself padding onto the ice, blending in easily with her surroundings. White fur against white snow, with only silvery-blue eyes to mark her as anything other than a part of the landscape. Perhaps if she passed through one of these arches, she would find her gaze settling on another land; one of warmth and perpetual summer, the polar opposite of these always frozen expanses. Perhaps if she could climb one of those pillars, she could climb and climb until she reached the realms of the sky, the place where all wolves went when they died. They place that surely she would go, one day, joining the multitudes of other wolves who had left the world behind and watching the world below in the form of a twinkling star. The possibilities out here were absolutely endless. And then she realized what was going on beneath her paws. The ice was lighting up, leaving a path behind Irin with each careful step, feeling to see if the ice would shift beneath her. They glowed and gleamed, illuminating the world around her. Irin stopped dead in her tracks, turning to face the shore as she examined this strange, glowing phenomenon. Maybe it was because this ice was imbued with something otherworldly. Maybe here, she was closer to the realm of the spirits, or to that realm of perpetual summer that had to be straight through one of these arches. This place really was beautiful, despite the bitter winds and below freezing temperatures. "speech"

The stench of blood and adrenaline filled his nostrils. A woman's call echoed threatening across the land -- calling for Newt, his Master, wanting to fight her for the throne. For his home. With heed he began to make his way towards the gathering, silently hoping it wasn't true. Green eyes widened with disdain as he approached the duo. Alongside them stood Kaios and another, beginning the fight for his life. Unaffected, he returned his gaze to Newt, slinking in the shadows, preferring to stay unnoticed. The fragile life he had begun to grow accustomed to began to crumble as teeth met flesh, as blood begin to spill. His mind whirled, confusion and passion bubbling within his fragile chest. Suddenly he began to feel as though he would be thrown into the squabble, and surely he would crush beneath the fangs of Amenti's opposition. Teeth curled over stained fangs, a soft breath of words escaping his throat in a barely audible growl. "Res secundae," was all he could manage to mumble, before turning on his heels and beginning to run. The threat of Amenti falling into new hands was terrifying and infuriating. As he went, quickly abandoning the meeting, snarls and sounds of unrest began to erupt from his small form. He was far now, too far to be heard. Fury turned to dull paranoia, seeping into his core and refusing to leave; his journey would've been far quicker if he hadn't convinced himself he was being followed by a stranger. He was reminded of the woman Ashtoreth, the woman who had clearly been stalking him -- and how easily she had acted as though she was innocent. Early morning slowly faded into afternoon as his journey took him far from his home. Farther than he had meant to go, farther than he realized was possible to go in a short span of a few hours. The light dusting of snow on the earth turned to massive piles, colossal mountains that seemed to reach the clouds. The awed him, leaving him feel rather small and insecure. His eyes wandered upwards to the midday sun, marveling at the brilliant rays of light and how blinding the sun was as it reflected off the pure white snow. Before long, he came upon the scent of another. Hesitantly he crept forward, drawing himself closer to the vast expanse of nothingness before him. It took a long moment for him to realize it was a plain of ice -- no, a lake? At the opposite end stood a female, a stranger to him. "Vae," he mumbled with slight irritation, vivid emerald eyes sweeping over her from a far distance. He was in no mood to talk to anyone, his mind wondering what his Master was doing, wondering why his brother had not yet returned to him. He had yet to notice what lay beneath the lake. His eyes were pinned on her as he took a tentative step onto the frozen lake, claws scraping against the solid ice. "Intereō." His voice was small, even though he attempted to increase his volume, far more delicate than the strange expression that suddenly engulfed his features. Confusion -- hesitation -- and a slight curl of his lip that indicated he was ready to either fight or flee if she began to harass him. (hover for translation)

The only thing that could distract Irin from her thoughts was the soft scrape of claws against the ice. Irin hadn't been moving, so the noise made her jump slightly, light gaze scanning the area around her carefully. She saw nothing, and allowed herself to relax marginally as she turned to examine the other bank. And found her gaze settling on a wolf that appeared from the snow like a ghost, emerald gaze bright enough to make Irin's fur stand on end. Maybe he was a ghost, cursed to wander these lands because he had been a killer, a murderer, and unwelcome in the peaceful stars. Or maybe he was seeking a lost love, a gorgeous black female who had been murdered by . . . hmm, a jealous brother, perhaps? And she had passed to the stars and spent her days trying desperately to contact her lost lover. The second thought was nicer. She preferred it to the other alternative, and it gave her the confidence to watch as his lips moved, shaping an unfamiliar word that her ears strained to make out. The wind had fallen silent just long enough for Irin to pick up the word, though it meant nothing to her. "Intereō." She rolled it around in her mind, testing it out insider her head. Was it maybe some strange greeting? Surely it meant that he hailed from lands far away from here! Maybe these lands were a mysterious place, hot no matter the season, with the rich scent of spices heavy on the air. Irin felt her tail wag slightly, cautiously, as she took a few dainty steps closer to the male. "I - I'm sorry, I don't understand you..." Ducking her head slightly, Irin found it easier to let her gaze focus on the icy ground than on the unnerving green eyes of the potential ghost. Hopefully he wouldn't lash out or attack her because of her lack of knowledge. But he didn't look too intimidating. No, if Irin was correct, he looked about as nervous as she felt, with her heart thudding eratically in her chest as she sneaked a slight peek in the direction of the ghostly wolf. Maybe he was asking about his lost love! Maybe Intereo was her name. Hmm. It was possible. Which meant that Irin was going to cling to it until told otherwise. "speech"

Those vivid green eyes of his stood out starkly against his pure white coat. He never understood just how drastically they shone, especially against the white of the snow coupled with his blindingly colorless pelt. It certainly didn't help that he always seemed wide-eyed, as though perpetually stunned by whatever it was that he was looking at. And currently, that was the female before him. She seemed startled by his sudden appearance, and so was Domovei, for he hardly thought before speaking in his native tongue. A slight sneer had appeared on his face, his lip curling into a silent snarl, as though she had been the one to approach him. The stranger's own eyes seemed to widen in response to his arrival. Perhaps he had startled her? Or simply confused her? His mind reeled, and he realized that it was likely she didn't understand his ancient tongue. "I said, I'm lost," he spat quickly, though soon recovered from the slight irritation that had begun to well up. He took a tentative step closer as well. Before he had time to speak further, he noticed the flashes of color beneath his feet. The hell? He directed his gaze downward, towards the frozen ice. It seemed as though vivid colors flashed beneath the thick ice, and he pawed gently at the frozen water to get a better view. It was very strange -- a curious sight indeed. Eyes danced back towards the unknown woman, inquiringly, as though she might provide him some sort of answer. "What's this, matris prolapsus?" He directed his gaze back towards the frozen lake and the weird display of color beneath it, then glanced expectantly up at her, as though demanding an answer. (hover for translation)

At the other wolf's explanation of his words, Irin felt herself deflating quickly. Well, it seemed that 'Intereo' wasn't a mystical and pretty name of a long lost lover. It was just a foreign language, one that Irin had never heard before. It was very . . . uh, short. What had been a sentence in the language that they spoke had been only a word in that other language. Maybe then two words was like a really long sentence? This foreign language had captured Irin's attention effortlessly, drawing her thoughts away from the thoughts of this wolf being a ghost, and of the shimmering lights beneath the ice. It took her several moments to remember her manners and answer the ghostly wolf, "Maybe I can help?" The words were soft, almost anxious as Irin responded, "I know a little bit of the area," She didn't know much of it, though. But she knew enough that she was willing to try and help this mysterious wolf. Maybe he really was on a quest to find a long lost female, one that he loved with all of his heart, and that word he had spoken was a fragment of a language that he had shared only with her. By spinning a happier truth in her mind, Irin was able to ignore the fact that she knew nothing about this wolf and convince herself that the dreams she had woven were true. "The ice?" She asked brilliantly when the other wolf spoke, head tilting slightly, "I don't know. Maybe there are stars under the ice." It was one of the more reasonable of her theories about the ice. The others including the glowing ice to be a path that lead to the realm of eternal summer that she had imagined might lurk just around any corner in this frozen world. But Irin figured he'd probably laugh if he heard that theory. And anyways, Irin had more questions for the male. "What's a . . . matress prolipsis?" Her tongue stumbled over the foreign words as Irin turned a curious gaze on the other wolf. "speech"

This woman seemed docile. Unlike the one he'd met this past summer, this creature clearly was not following him ... no, he had approached her. His mind was calm for now, stilled by the bitter cold of winter and the gnawing possibility of losing his home. Newt. What if she lost? His mind whirled, and he let loose a strange snarl as though to silence it, directed at the frozen ice below them, rather than the stranger. "Maybe," he said, his voice hollow and even a bit bitter. What if the woman who was fighting Newt ended up winning? What if she was killed? No; he would surely go mad, even upon considering the possibility. "I'm from far south of here. Needed to clear my mind. Dunno where I am now." His words came unsteadily, the vague bit of an accent his soft voice possessed was proof that this was not his native tongue. "It's weird," he said, referring to the brilliant array of colors that shone beneath the lake's surface. "Reminds me of... sidera ..." he struggled for a moment, as though thinking. "Stars. Those." The she questioned his words; he sneered a bit. "It's nothing," he said, as though annoyed, but he took a few steps closer to the woman. Eying her with vague curiousity, wondering why she was sticking around him still. (hover for translation)

Irin tilted her head slightly as she examined the ghostly male before her. He didn't seem too impressed by her offer, but maybe he had a reason for that. Maybe he didn't want to go home. Or maybe he was simply uninterested in heading home with her. Maybe his home was a secret place, somewhere that wolves like her couldn't see. But then what was a wolf like her? Just females? Or maybe just young females or something. There were endless possibilities, and that was just the way Irin liked it. "Maybe we can track your scent back to your home? I'll do my best to help." If he wanted her help. Which Irin wasn't sure that he did. He didn't seem too excited about her offer. Weird. Yes, Weird. "Sidera?" Irin tested the word out on her tongue, tail flicking slightly. "That's pretty." Irin observed softly, "But I agree. It reminds me of stars too. Maybe there are fallen stars trapped beneath the ice..." Trailing off with a nervous giggle, Irin glanced at the male. Would he laugh at her fantastical ideas? Or would he simply accept them as par for the course? Irin was actually kind of nervous about that. She wasn't sure why, but she was. Hmm. "Okay!" Irin chirped brightly, accepting the male's words without comment. "Oh yeah! My name's Irin. What's yours?" The yearling tilted her head slightly as she examined the large male. Did he even have a name? If he was a ghost, would he have a name? "speech"

Though he remained wary, poised carefully of the pads of his paws, his interest in this stranger grew exponentially as time went on. She seemed rather somber, and gentle, and he appreciated her pacifism. Irin seemed genuine -- that was what it was. Like she wasn't hiding anything at all from him, and he was calmed by her presence. "I meant to be lost," he said, his voice empty and hardly giving away the emotion that potentially lurked inside his hollow chest. He spoke as though this was such an obvious explanation that he was confused as to why she had asked at all. "When I want to return, I will become not lost." The scrawny male shrugged, his shoulders heaving slightly as she raised himself a bit higher. She mused aloud, wondering again if there were fallen stars trapped under the ice. "If they fell, why are they still moving?" His gaze lowered and began to follow the lights as they flickered beneath his paws. He even slid a single paw over the ice, removing some of the ice shavings that had accumulated as he walked, making the lights much more visible. He had hardly realized he didn't know her name, nor she his. Ears twitched atop his cranium as the white-furred creature lifted his head towards hers again. Green eyes glimmered as he watched her. "Domovei, of Amenti,"

His words were so . . . solemn? Was that the right word? No, it was something else. But whatever it was, it made Irin curious. Her head tilted slightly, ears pricking in his direction as she mulled over his words. A fundamental part of being lost meant that you couldn't find out how to get back home. But okay. Hey, maybe where he was from things were different. Maybe the sidera / stars were different from the ones she knew and maybe a lot of things were different from what Irin was used to. "Well, I guess you probably won't need help with that, then. But if you want help, I'm here." Irin nodded slightly, flicking her tail happily behind her. She would be happy to help this ghostly male, to get a glimpse of the surely wonderous realm in which he lived. Watching the male's sweeping movements thoughtfully, Irin examined the lights curiously. "Maybe they want to get back to the sky, and they're trying to escape through the ice and that's why they still move. Because the sky's their home and they miss it." Did she, like the sidera (she really did like that word. Hmm. It was fun to think/say), miss her home? Not really, if Irin were totally honest. But that might come with time. For the moment, Irin was content to explore the sprawling expanses of the continent that she had stumbled across, curiosity burning in her mind as she spun stories for every creature, living and dead, that she stumbled across. The introduction was met by a slight tilt of Irin's head. "Amenti? Is that a land?" Irin was sadly uninformed about the lands that she now wandered. She knew vaguely that there had to be packs here, but she had stumbled across only the occasional scent marked border that she simply skirted around and proceeded on her way. The few strangers that she had stumbled across had thus far sated Irin's need for company and she felt no need to investigate the lands any further than she already had. Criss-crossing this continent would be enough for a while. But she wanted to know about this Amenti of which he spoke. Was it the mystical realm from which he had escaped for a short while? "speech"

What would happen if Newt lost Amenti, he wondered? Would she relinquish her hold on him? But no, he had grown attached to her these last few seasons, and the mere possibility of losing her was somewhat unthinkable to him. And yet -- the memory of his brother, the beast who had abandoned him so thoughtlessly -- hung heavy in his mind. Would his brother return if he left the queen slayer's side? Or would he be more alone than he'd ever been before? Briefly his thoughts did trail off, his gaze once again leaving Irin to follow the spectacle below the ice that never seemed to cease. Perhaps she was right and they were stars, struggling to find their way home. Domovei wondered how it felt to have a place to call home that one longed to return to; he only grew attached to people, never to places. And few people had earned that place in his heart that he reserved mostly for his brother. Irin also offered to help him return home if he so desired; he'd keep that in mind, but he felt it unlikely she would know any better how to get there, especially considering she had no idea where Amenti lived at all. He nodded simply, filing her suggestion away for later use if necessary. Once again his gaze fell upon her, eyes void of much emotion, save curiosity. She was rather amicable, unnerved by his behavior that many called peculiar at times. It was surprising, for he was normally uncomfortable around females. "Amenti is my home," he said finally, though his words sounded detached even as though he tried to force a sense of joy into his speech. He failed utterly, and instead his voice rose in pitch awkwardly, and his tail waved once behind him before tucking between his legs, its typical home. "Amenti is ruled by Newt, my Master." It was said so casually that Irin would likely be confused by his meaning. Most slaves were not content with being such, but he spoke of it as though he had accepted his fate with little effort. Perhaps she would've even know he was saying he was a slave. Surely master had more than one meaning -- most words in his second tongue seemed to. "You are a rogue?"

Home, huh? She almost wondered what it would be like to have a home again. Maybe she would find a home in these lands. But Irin doubted it. It was rare that wolves spent as much time in her company as Domovei was. He was kind, if a bit . . . strange. Not that Irin had any place to judge. But he had kept her imagination more grounded than most did. She wasn't sure what it was about him that did that, but he had, but he had. And she wasn't sure how she felt about that. But her attention had been focused largely on him and not on the worlds that she spun for herself. It wasn't a particularly common occurrence. "It sounds like a nice place," Irin observed, half to herself. Though in fact she knew little about it, it had to be a nice place if wolves were happy there. Life was black and white like that.

At the mention of a master, however, Irin blinked, turning her curious gaze towards Domovei thoughtfully. A master? Was that simply a fancy name for Alpha? If so, maybe the pack wasn't particularly nice after all. But maybe it was Master in the traditional sense, and he was a servant or a slave or something like that. Maybe she had saved his life, and until he paid off his debt, he was bound to her, doing whatever she pleased. "Master?" She tilted her head slightly, asking for clarification in her quiet manner, as she was inclined to.

A rogue. Well, she supposed she was. Irin thought absently of her small pack, the one that she had left behind not so long ago and shook her head slightly, ears pricking in Domovei's direction. "Yeah, I guess I am." Irin blinked, shrugging her shoulders. "What's Amenti like?" There, a subject change. Irin wasn't much for talking about her family. They were not particularly horrible or anything, it just wasn't as much fun as learning new things was. And she was indeed curious about the home of which Domovei spoke.

Domovei truly was tolerating her company -- veering on the point of actually enjoying it. He was easily irritated, despite how desperately he tried to cling to sanity, to normalcy -- often feeling enraged without any explanation. It was surprising that he seemed so calm currently, but even he knew that his mood could potentially be short-lived. The reason for his consistent instability, he was unsure, but ... knowing it just infuriated him upon trying to unravel the mystery ... he was content to ignore the cause of the problem. She repeated his word, almost as though she didn't understand it. That was the right word for it, after all, wasn't it? "She claimed me," he explained casually, tail flicking once behind his small frame. "I tried to run from her. I was stupid." He shrugged a bit, small shoulders rising and falling gently. Slowly he crept a bit closer, finally able to relax a bit around her. She had done a good job of convincing him she was not someone who was sent to find him, or harm him, which was quite lucky for her. The last woman he'd suspected hadn't gotten away so easily. The brilliant lights that shone beneath the ice would only amuse him for so long, and his interest in them seemed to have faded as his gaze settled more permanently on Irin. "It's okay," he answered with such seriousness and simplicity that he wondered why she was still interested in him. He crouched a bit near her, tail moving to curl again beneath his belly as he began to speak. His lyrics were much sweeter now, almost gentle, though brimming with brief emotion. "My Master is being challenged for her pack right now. I didn't want to watch, so i left. Got lost." An awkward smile appeared on his lips as he eyed her, wondering her reaction. "I don't know what we will do if she loses." It was an opportunity to seize his freedom, to perhaps find his brother... or to stay. He had not yet decided.

Irin twitched her ears, listening carefully to the male's explanation. So he belonged to this female, it seemed. "Are you happy?" The question spilled from her maw before she could think it all the way through. Was he happy with that? With belonging to another? He didn't seem upset, but Irin didn't know him particularly well. Maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was. It wasn't exactly her business, but she was curious. Domovei was an interesting wolf. "With your master, I mean." Irin clarified a moment later, cocking her head slightly as she watched Domovei's careful approach.

Only okay? A hint of amusement flickered across Irin's features as she listened. The amusement faded swiftly as he continued, explaining why he had chosen to get lost. "I wish her luck, then." Irin poke softly, frowning slightly. Pack challenges didn't make much sense to her. She had been raised in a pack that was more like a family than anything else, and it didn't make sense that a wolf could take over something like that. What would they gain from that? Was there any point to taking over a pack, only to lose every member? Wouldn't it be better for all to just build a new pack, far away from all other packs? "But you should do what feels right to you." Irin observed with a blink, "Go or stay. Do what you want to do." Okay, so she wasn't exactly the best at giving advice, but Irin figured it was worth a try. If he was a servant or slave, he probably didn't get a lot of choices in his life.

"I'm sure everything will be okay," Irin assured the male with a slight wag of her tail. It was something her mother had told her more than once. 'Everything will be all right in the end. And if it's not all right, it's not the end.' Her mother had always had such cute little phrases as that. "Eventually." The ending was tacked on with a slight sigh. She had expected to be perfectly happy once she'd left, but it was a lonely life. So maybe her mother wasn't right and her assurances were empty.

It was rare to see Domovei stay in one place, so still, for so long. Still he did not sit, but rather stood poised on the pads of his paws, as though hovering, ready to flee if necessary. But his attention was fixated rather permanently on Irin, intrigued by this nice female. Was he happy? He could've laughed, but instead remained silent. His expression was void of most emotion, simply tainted by confusion and unsureness. "I guess," was all he said in response. He missed his brother, but the thought of abandoning Newt was just as uncomfortable for him. He didn't like change. No, not one bit. "She's good to me." Good... what a relative word. She didn't physically hurt him. He felt safe in her pack, sure that nobody would warm him. Yes, she was good to him. "I don't know what feels right." Such deep talk made him feel strange, uncomfortable in the pureness and honesty that emanated from this lady. Things would be okay though -- he would survive, one way or another. "So why do you choose to live alone?" It was easier to ask her about her own life than focus on his. Curiosity burned in his strange, wide-eyed gaze. Part of him didn't realize being a rogue was not always a matter of choice, but simply how life happened. He hated being alone, despite his fits of rage and irritation; it was far more comfortable to be protected and possessed by another.