The young man’s gaze was wide with wonder as he looked around the nook he had discovered. It was awash in colors of autumn, a beautiful time of year to be certain. The winged wolf’s green eyes softened as he thought of the possibly flora that would grow here, especially during the warmer seasons. His heart fluttered -- he was no expert on herbs yet, but hey, that just meant he had a lot more he could learn about! His dark skinned nose twitched and the winged boy shifted his head to look at the crook between his right wing and shoulder blade.

There an albino rat lay curled up, a pretty little thing, who had proven to be a valuable resource in her own right. She could help him dig out plants more carefully, without damaging them. Come the following spring, Gavroche decided, his lessons would begin full force. But for now he’d take a more leisurely approach. Maybe he’d even find someone who’d be willing to teach him a thing or two about healing. Heck yeah! That’d be amazing!

“Hey, Houdini? You smell anything interesting around here?” The young male asked.

The rat stirred, lifting her head before her pink nose twitched curiously. “Hmm… nothing in particular Gav. You sure you’re not just excited?” The smaller critter asked, blinking her eyes.

“Of course I’m excited!” Gavroche remarked, turning his head back to the nook before him. Paws began leading him deeper into the territory, his heart soaring as high as he wished the wings upon his back could.

“We’re starting a new life here. It’s a new beginning… a new chance… everything to learn, things to explore… Gods can you imagine?” Gavroche came to a stop by a fallen tree and leaped on top of it, careful not to jostle his companion too much.

“We can find a new home… new friends. Everything is waiting for us!” Gav’s tail began wagging behind him. What could be better than the chance at everything you ever wanted?

Dance with the Devil || The air was so cold yet the trees were on fire. The luciferian woman would smile up at the inferno above her crown. Scarlet and gold licked at the blue sky, no rain clouds today in sight apparently. The chill in the post-dawn air was the first hint that winter was not far behind and she had yet to do more preparation for it. In the winter season these trees will stand naked, bereft of their color. But for now they line the avenue and her walk to gather more herbs was more vibrant than any carnival parade. She was torn between keeping her amethyst optics high to watch for the falling leaves dancing their way to the carpeted ground, or looking down to spy the crunchy ones under her teacup paws. And it was good that she did chose the latter. Beyond heavenly attires or russet and brown, matching her surroundings perfectly, she roams with a vagrant face -- angellic visage, saturated in heat and desire. The luciferian woman ebony lashes unfurl above pallid cheekbone, acting like a widow veil, long and thick yet her smile became nonexistent, save for pouting lips and salivated fangs, as she noticed a figure in the distance. She is a lonely predator, wandering desolate worlds -- but as she got closer to the strange shadowed figure she could not believe her eyes. Eloquent strides halt before the strange creature and behind the marked trees of the forest, she paces cautiously. What was this? A falcon? A wolf? A combination of the two it seems. Amethyst optics grew in surprise and she took everything in. Maybe this was a sign of the Gods. "!"

Leaving his homeland had been a no brainer, it was much too quiet and boring there. The same faces everyday, not to mention the annoyance of little pups every time he turned around. It wasn't a life for him truly.

He padded with the loping gait of his kind that was like gliding across the land. He made no attempt to hide himself though it would of been easy if he really tried to do so. These lands were colder but so much more interesting than the endless savannahs of his homeland. Not to mention the smells were much more exciting. Particularly the two he smelled at the moment. One a female approaching her heat, another a Male, yet also not, the the scent of Male and pest together. How strange, how exciting.

The young Male approached from the north, watching the two figures. His interest was piqued by the Male with wings, though also by the other. She was female for certain, yet there was that scent on her that indicated Male. The African wild dog Male came to a stop only a short three meters from them. "What's a curious pair like you doing in a place like this?" his voice was deep, accented like English was his second language. He stood at a full height of 23 inches which was normal for his species.

Gavroche might have missed the first stranger completely due to her silence. It was Houdini who noticed her, giving a warning squeak to her winged companion that caused the young man to turn his head. His bright eyes widened a bit with wonder, a warm smile appearing on his face. He was very much so aware that wolves could be danger, an enemy, but he did not show hostility to others. Especially upon meeting them… that would be silly! You could turn away a potential ally, or even a friend, if you did that! He turned to her completely and dipped his head respectfully to the larger one. It was then, and only then, that he noticed her scent was different. Male and female. This caused Gav to arch a brow slightly but he didn’t say anything about that.

“Hello, Miss.” Gavroche spoke calmly, a small confidence in his voice. Houdini sighed behind him, likely questioning how the young male was still so naive after the events that lead to his being here. “You can’t trust everyone…” She mumbled.

Gav was going to say more when another stranger approached. This one was definitely male, though his voice held an accent to it. It reminded Gav of his father, for the man too was foreign, and when the boy attempted to speak French himself. Not the same sort of accent of course… but enough of one to stir up a memory.

“Well my companion and I just arrived in Boreas. I can’t speak for the good madam here though.” Houdini scurried up the back of Gavroche’s neck and sighed, her beady red eyes fixed on the African Wild Dog and wolf. She said nothing, just watching them quietly for now.

“Her name is Houdini! I’m Gavroche.”

Dance with the Devil || It was certainly a message from the God and Goddesses above and in a slow motion the luciferian woman cast her golden violet gaze upon the heavens above. What was the message they were trying to deliver? She lost her family or perhaps they had abandoned her again and now this blessing? Or perhaps it was a monstrosity? What ever it was it did not came from Earth. She was bathed in heavenly enamouration and awe at the sight of such bird-like wings, her seductive glamour so bewitching and deliciously frail as she swayed her hips into a tango just to approach the creature, the message. But as she was descending heaven towards the winged creature, in her sultry and vengeful allure she came to a halt upon hearing the voice of another. Trapped in her own mind the woman did not even sense the other lupine approaching. Her physique was toned - curvaceous, deceptively lithe though she standed at a reasonable height; she was over all an image of golden divinity, kissed by a tempestuous and vampiric ardour as she offered a soft sigh before she came to a rest on her haunches. This party was just getting bigger. "I could ask you the same thing." she voice, melodious; dark and soft despise her half-annoyance with the other lupine that interfered. Within moments her annoyance faded reasonably as the winged creature began talking, revealing more about himself and his strange companion. "Nephthys is the name." she clarified for both of them as introductions seemed to be in order. "Remember it, creature, you will be screaming it later." she mentioned towards the winged lupine, with a wink of her golden amethyst gaze "!"

The female was standoffish at best, but the little Male was anything but. If anything he found the friendly nature of the boy a sign that these lands weren't completely devoid of good interactions. Though the way the woman spoke seemed like she might not be easy to sway to liking him. It was whatever though. Couldn't win every time he found a woman. Or man for that matter.

He refused to follow suit and sit though. These lands were colder than he was used to and no reason to make his butt cold if he didn't have to. He gave a deep chuckle at the way she guarded herself. "Well if you must know, I'm on a journey to find a land where I better fit than my homeland, along with running from a brat that insists that I'm her dad." he was serious but his tone was half joking.

The way she then went on to ignore him and speak to the boy, now identified as Gavroche had him lifting a brow. He couldn't say much though, he had slept with older women as a teen. But none of them actually had started the flirting. Did she realize he was only a teen? He came to stand next to the boy, a little interest in how this was going to play out. His eyes were on Houdini though, sure she was old enough to know what the woman implied. Though it was hard to judge, as pests weren't usually something he had any relationship with, since they were usually food and all. Then he was eyeing the wings on the boy. "Zuberi.... so do these things actually work or are they just decorating you?" he lifted a paw and attempted to touch them, carefully since he knew birds were breakable and he assumed the same of these.

Gavroche was clueless when it came to the temptations of women… at least for now. Sure he thought Nephthys was pretty, and the other male handsome, but that was about as far as his mind went at the moment. So when Neph made her comment to him, winking, the young man blinked with confusion and arched a brow. “S-screaming it?” He sounded a bit startled at the idea. Why on Earth would he be screaming any creature’s name? Houdini understood though, and the albino rat moved to the top of Gav’s head, eying the woman with her bright red eyes.

“With all due respect madam…” The rat began. “I’d appreciate you minding yourself around a teenager! This kid doesn’t have the first clue about those acts.” Houdini chattered quickly. Gavroche frowned, speaking up once more.

“What acts?”

“Never you mind, Gav.” Houdini responded quickly, gaze sliding to the other male that was now far too close to Gavroche for her liking. He gave his name though, only to then attempt touching Gav’s wings. Something he shied away from. No one ever touched his wings but his mama… and honestly Gavroche was worried about letting a complete stranger near them after the incident with his grandmother when he was but a child.

“Uhh… they don’t… exactly work like that…” His words revealed how uncomfortable the small act made him. “S-Sorry…”

Houdini sighed, shaking her head. “Gavroche can’t fly, no. But the Goddess gave him wings for some reason. He’s already had his grandmother try and tear them off him when he was hardly a month old so please be mindful.” The rat scratched at an ear.

“She actually… well…” Gavroche lowered his gaze. “She made sure I wouldn’t be coming back to our pack… so I guess I’m in the same boat as Zuberi. Looking for a new home while Houdini and I work on my herblore studies!” He looked back up towards the other two.

“So Zuberi’s not from around here… but what of you, miss Nephthys? Do you know much of these lands?”

Dance with the Devil || Was she coming off too hard? Perhaps that has been the case, it was explicable however. Mile-long limbs, graceful stretched before the vixen only to take a few steps backwards as to allow the subject in question enough place and distance. Audits flickered, roatating themselves towards the sound of the males voices, registering every syllable. "Pardon my impudence, I just never seen something quite like him." she purred in her dulcet sonnetes, harmonious, her words, heavy with a thick arabic accent. Her violet gaze shifted as her position did, sitting on her haunches with a roll of her curvaceous hips, measuring the boy from head to toe, taking in every muscle and every hair thread that adorned his body. "You are a most peculiar specimen." her elongated, luxurious tail curled around her teacup paws. Within moments her attention shited towards the other male that she had previously ignored in her awe and admiration of the boy filightless wings. "Been asking myself the same, Zuberi." she tasted the name on her tongue like whiskey, it burnt her throat inside out, escaping in raw syllables. She took him in, inhaling his scent for further use before her attention returned towards the child and his answers. Flightless wings, it would seem. A shame, for a wolf to have been blessed with the appearance of a bird, one could only imagine how the world looks from up there and the freedom it offers. "I am well familiar with these lands, yes. Though I have recently returned to Boreas myself." she gave a small nod of her crown, her shoulder blades rotated backward; her pose was the image of royalty, the grace her movements offered seemed eerie, surreal to the naked eye unless one stepped closer, much closer. She was aware of her surroundings, keeping her violet gaze, with its own gravitational pull, on both of her companions. Nothing was left to chance. "!"