Slowly the lightning king made his way North, gravitating from his home in Ruina to his home in Dauntless. Determined not to be drawn in by the sickening nostalgia that seemed ever present in his life he had chosen to duck into the mines. In some places the tunnels were large enough for him to pass through easily, while in others the ceiling bore down on him as if it would cave in at any moment. It was unlike any cave he had wandered into in Boreas, and, he noticed, there was a distinctly purposeful quality to it. Of course that was impossible, no living creature could dig through stone, or so he told himself. speaking Thinking You

After settling into her brother's newly claimed territory, a familiar need to stretch out her legs over came her. She was never one, even as a pup, to like to sit and stay anywhere for any length of time. But she did promise Branch she would call the Weeping Woods her base of operations, that she would return to him after her travels to rest and restore her strength. So when she set off this morning, there was little holding her back. Strides elongated to allow maximum speed as she traveled north of her new home in search of a new place to explore and commit to memory. After much debate with herself, Aspen had decided she would want to learn of a way to keep tract of all the lands the crossed, and be able to find them again if one needed to. It was suggested that she find a way to create a map of sorts, though she didn't have the foggiest idea on how to go about it.

After spending a great deal of her day traveling, it soon became time for a quick break and, as history would show, finding a safe place to rest was key. That was when she stumbled upon the strangest thing; there was a cave carve into the side of a great mountain, only this cave had something off about it. There was markings along the sides of the wall, and big wooden trunks randomly placed along the sides of the cavern, which she couldn't even begin to think how they got there. It was just what she had been looking for! Both as a place of rest and a place to explore; two birds, one stone. So the raven woman began to wander into the mine shaft, letting big blue orbs drink in the stone walls with the interest of an adult and the imagination of a child. As she was walking, she suddenly heard an echo in the distance that made her stand still. Could there be, by some unbelievable chance, someone else in the caverns? Only one way to find out. "Is someone there?" She would call out, letting her feminine voice drift along the various pathways and echo towards whatever it was she might've heard.

"Speech"

His ears lifted at the call, although with the structure of the caves it was difficult to place where exactly the sound had come from. “Yes.” He responded calmly, his voice raised as it echoed through the tunnels. He turned to try and find who the questioning voice had belonged to but the structure of the tunnels made following any noise difficult, he opted instead to find the stranger by scent, his heads raised as he followed the faint perfume on the wind. It was a female of course but what he hadn’t expected was for her to be so lovely. “Greetings.” He said with a polite dip of his head as she came into view, his eyes fixed on hers as he struggled to retain some form of diplomacy. “I am Tyranis Praetor.”  He introduced keeping a comfortable distance between them. Even in the low light he could see that she was beautiful his eyes roaming over her as subtly as he could manage without making her uncomfortable. speaking Thinking You

Although she had called out, Aspen still believed there would be no one to answer, and that she was simply calling out to the dirt and stone that surrounded her. She could have easily just made up hearing something, her own mind playing tricks on her. But when a males voice suddenly echoed back to her, there was no more questioning her sanity, she was more impressed with herself for hearing him now more than anything. Excited to be meeting another wolf, the raven woman started to creep forward little by little, sticking her head around corners to try and find the owner of the mysterious voice. When he finally came into view, robin blue eyes studied his form as he approached. He was a fair amount taller than her, which she noticed first seeing the ceiling a great deal closer to his skull than her own. Finally her eyes fixated themselves back on his face as she offered him a small smile and a light flicker from her tail. "Hello, didn't think I'd find anyone else down here."

His name struck her as a bit odd, but she was coming from a world of healers, where just about everyone was named after some kind of bush, plant, or tree. So, perhaps it wasn't truly as strange as she believed. "Tyranis Praetor," she would repeat, hoping to pronounce it correctly and commit it to memory. "Pleasure to meet you, my name is Aspen Wreckage." Normally she wouldn't toss in her last name, but as a split second decision to be fair, seeing as he had offered his last name, she tossed it in. Guessing from his posture and his more proper greeting, she figured he would appreciate a little more effort from her. "You hang out in weird caves like this often, Tyranis?" Who knew, maybe this was even his home and she was intruding. But something told her by the lack of scent coming form the cool stone walls, this place was abandoned. But that begged another question; what was he doing here?

"Speech"

At the name Wreckage all lecherous thoughts left his mind entirely. They were related somehow although he couldn’t say with any certainty how closely related they were. His mother had never spoken of her family, neither had his uncle in the two brief meetings they had with each other. For all he knew they weren’t related at all and the girl simply had a similar last name to his mother. Regardless the topic was never brought up and was dropped from the conversation entirely. "You hang out in weird caves like this often, Tyranis?" She asked and he found himself giving her a slight smile in response. “I don’t even go to normal caves too often. I prefer the mountains.” He said wistfully, his mind wandering toward the Maw before he called himself to focus. “And you? I don’t suppose a lovely flower like yourself does too well without sunlight.” He chided himself for the flirt, reminding himself that they were related only for the thought to be countered by the doubts he had concocted. speaking Thinking You

By the way he said it, Aspen couldn't tell if he was afraid of caves or if he simply loved mountains too much to ever want to be in one. She could see the contracting viewpoints; on top of a mountain you can see the world, in a cave you can't see what lays before you. Both held their own, poetic beauties, in her opinion, but she wasn't going to pressure him about it. His sudden flirtation had her flattered, the effect similar to Kai's charm, but she was more impressed with his poetic tongue than the compliment itself. "Some of the most beautiful flowers grow in the darkest of places." She would offer him a small wink as her attempt of flirtation (she really doesn't know much). "But I was actually looking for somewhere safe to crash, and a cool new place to explore.... this seemed perfect for the job." Wow, now those were two contradicting desires. She stared off into space for a second or two as she contemplated her own rationality for those things, before she decided to just shrug it off.

Eyes glanced down the corridor as a whisper of wind caught her attention, causing a flame of curiosity to once again burn inside her. Her gaze flickered between Tyranis and the cave beyond a few times, before she tilted her head to the left and peered up to him. "Well if you're not too familiar with caves, why don't we explore this together? Better to explore the unknown with a buddy." At least, that was her experience. There had been quite a few close calls where Aspen could've used the help, and the more she advanced into this strange cave, the more concerned she became over it's integrity. She would hop forward, quite literally, filled to the brim with excitement. Ears perked at the sound of her hops echoing in the distance, but instead of sprinting off into the dark like an idiot, she stayed put, turning to the male with expectant gaze. On the off chance he would decline, she would quickly add on; "You never know what kind of treasure these kinds of places could be hiding."

"Speech"

The wink had sent his heart racing, his tail waving behind him like a flag. She explained her motives for entering the cave then suddenly her expression became distant. For a moment he was worried she had seen something but she simply looked at an empty wall behind him. Then just as suddenly as it started she was back to chatting as if nothing had happened. “Well if you're not too familiar with caves, why don't we explore this together? Better to explore the unknown with a buddy." She offered then tacked on the promise of treasure. “I’d love to.” He purred, moving to stand beside her then allowing her to take the lead. “I used to wander caves when I was younger.” He said conversationally. “Mostly just to clear my head though no one ever seemed to notice I was gone.” It was after all for that very reason that so many of his siblings had disappeared so young, and what had ultimately driven Bass to insanity. His features darkened slightly at the thought and he could only hope that the darkness would be enough to keep Aspen from noticing. "When I lived in the north there was a cave system I used to wander every now and then.Though I can't say there was much treasure to be found" He said, recalling the caverns that had fed into Waterfall Peak; the epicenter for Dauntless. Speech, Thought, You

It seemed bribing his company with the promise of treasure was the right call, because the moment after he was agreeing to the journey and stepping along side her. Ecstatic to have some company into the darkness, Aspen began walking down the mine shaft once more, eyes glancing back and forth between Tyranis as he spoke, to the direction they were heading. She didn't want to make some silly mistake and have them both tumbling down some dark hole, never to be heard from again. Thankfully she was drawn back from such thoughts at the mention of his younger years, finding it rather odd that his parents would let him wander off alone. Where she and her siblings had grown up, there was almost always someone to keep a close eye on the pups, never letting them go too far or do anything particularly dangerous without adult supervision. Perhaps that constant shepherd over her shoulder is one of the deciding factors as to why she left her family. But she wouldn't care to dwell on that trunk load either.

"Did young pup version of you have a lot on his mind often?" It was her attempt to make light of his bittersweet comment, trying her best to make him feel better. Though it didn't always work, she did always try to keep her company in good spirits, otherwise they would never want to be in her company again! "I would have loved that freedom; there was always someone watching us as pups. Hell, you couldn't even sneeze without someone standing over you, examining you for illness like some fragile doll." That was one thing a family full of healers always did; they thought the worst of every little thing. You stubbed your toe? It's broken. You had a coughing fit? You have a bug. Your stomach is upset because of that thing you weren't suppose to eat? Poison. Okay... maybe that last one was true once or twice. But it was still annoying.

At the mention of treasure, Aspen's eyes lit up like the Milky Way. "Really? Caves like this are perfect for finding pretty jewels or lost trinkets, and the things you can make with the treasure you find down here can really be amazing." She immediately thought of the beautiful necklaces wolves in her pack use to wear. She could recall asking about where they came from, and being brought to the maker, who was all to eager to shall her knowledge of hunting down shiny things and weaving them together painfully slow to make the pretty jewelry. She turned her attention back to the male, eyeing his chest curiously. "I think a nice big ruby would look good on you, or maybe even a sapphire. What do you think?"

"Speech"

He smiled at her reassuring attempt “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I suppose you’re right.” He said idly. “My mother is a healer, but she was never that overbearing when I was a pup.” He said, his mind momentarily focused on the walls as they walked. When he saw the way her eyes illuminated at the mention of treasure his spirits lifted and he found himself grinning. “Maybe I’m just not good at finding things.” He offered companionably “Just another reason to explore with a buddy.” He added, his tail waving playfully behind him.  "I think a nice big ruby would look good on you, or maybe even a sapphire. What do you think?" She asked and he stopped to consider the thought. “Well I already have this.” He said, lifting the worn leather cuff and glinting citrine lightning bolt that sat on his wrist. “My mother gave it to me for my birthday.” He said fondly. He had worn the cuff for so long that most days he didn’t even notice it was there, looking at it now he could see that it would need mending sooner or later. Speech, Thought, You

Eyes watched closely as his face seemed to lighten up more, making her tail sway a bit more knowing he was in good spirits. It was interesting to hear that his mother was a healer as well, making her wonder if he carried the same gene like her brother had. "Are you a healer like your mother?" She couldn't really smell any scent of herbs on him, but that could be any number of things. Some healers couldn't stand the smell of the herbs they worked with and had to clean themselves often, others simply didn't roll around in it like everyone else seemed to. His remark on finding treasure had her cackling out in laughter. She was certainly no expert, but she would do her damn hardest to find him something to go home with now. "Stick with me kid, we'll find that treasure." She would say with a light bump of her shoulder, which would normally hit his shoulder but he was so damn tall she ended up hitting somewhere below it.

When he stopped in his tracts it made her head swerve back to see what he was trying to show her, and when her eyes caught sight of something shiny, she immediately turned around to examine it. Around his wrist was a beautifully crafted band of leather, showing off a stunning gem of a lightning bolt. "Woah..." she would mumble to herself softly as she gently took his paw in her own to turn it over and get a better look at it. There were a few spots in the seems that seemed to be coming undone, telling her Tyranis wore this bracelet very often, but otherwise in rather good shape. It was simple yet elegant, which she found very fitting for his personality. Finally she would lift her gaze with a dazzling smile, "She did a beautiful job. Might have to ask her to whip something up for me if we find anything down here." With that, she would place his paw back down with a final look at his bolt before turning back to the corridor ahead. "What's the bolt mean, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Speech"

He felt his cheeks burn with a hot flush as she gingerly held his paw to examine his accessory, his heart thudding dully against his chest while she seemed unaffected, totally absorbed in examining his bracelet. When she prodded him for the significance of the lightning bolt he felt himself smile widely. “My mother’s name is Storm, she named me and all of my siblings after the weather. Taranis is an ancient thunder god. Or so she told me.” He said with surprising modesty. That was of course only half the answer, the truth was that Tyranis had begun to associate himself with lightning from a young age, and when he had told his father the great bear of a man had told him his golden eyes meant that a nature spirit lived within him. Even after Elias abandoned them he couldn’t convince himself that the Praetor spirits weren’t real, or that a lightning spirit dwelled somewhere within him. Speech, Thought, You

Storm was a beautiful name, simple in nature but so powerful just the same. The real beauty, however, was to hear that his dam had chosen to name all of her pups after the weather. It was kid of remarkable. Almost like what her family had done but a bit more specific. Aspen grinned at the idea of Tyranis being named after a God, and a shimmer of mischief dwindled in her eyes as she turned to him. "Tyranis, God of Thunder," she would bow herself almost dramatically to the ground, arms outstretched before her. "I am so very honored to have you here with me today." She could hardly contain her laughter, but was able to hold it back until the very end, where she let a wave of giggles slip past her tongue. Finally she would lift herself from the ground shaking her head softly, "I can't believe you got named after a legit God, and my mother ended up naming me after a tree" It almost seemed unfair.

After walking a few more feet around a corner, silence grew boring and Aspen worked face to fill it."So how many siblings do you have, exactly?" She could only imagine having so many weather related names for so many pups, whereas her mother had an abundance of litters and thus needed a theme with abundance. Though she imagined, at the rate her family was growing at, they would soon need to start considering names outside of their normal box. Another question popped into her head, but for once, Aspen decided against voicing it out loud. She had wanted to ask where they all were, this big weather themed family of his, but she realized that could be a very sensitive subject if asked to the wrong wolf. So she would put that one on the back burner until she got a better vibe on the subject.

"Speech"

He felt his face redden even more as she bowed to him and teasingly called him a god. He responded by giving her shoulder a playful shove of his own with his large paws and laughing openly while she giggled. "I can't believe you got named after a legit God, and my mother ended up naming me after a tree" She lamented, which unbeknownst to her only furthered his belief that if they were related it was most likely distant. “Maybe you’ll have pups of your own some day.” He impishly suggested. “Then you can name them all after gods.” They continued to walk and for a time Tyranis amused himself by watching her swaying hips, then she broke the silence by asking how many siblings he had. Demons what a can of worms that was. “My mother had me, my brother Cloudburst, and my sisters Derecho, Tempest and Corentine.”He explained then paused. “Then she met a male and had two more daughters, Thora and one I haven’t met yet. They’re still young.” He was unsure if he should tell her the exact circumstances of his birth and how until recently he had called himself a Wreckage, if only because he was a bastard son. “My father had…Four litters I believe” He struggled to keep track of them all, and there was still a possibility that there were other siblings of his that simply didn’t know of their origin. His father had sworn his devotion to Zuriel, but the demons of Ruina and the spirits of the Praetor line, had had other plans for the mountain king Elias, and had driven him to rape two women. That he knew of anyway. Speech, Thought, You